VOW: Trivial Pursuit or Discipline – Mark 8:35

Verse of the Week

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his live for My sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it.

Mark 8:35 (NET)

Do you find yourself engaging in trivial pursuits? Lately with the 2020 quarantines, lockdowns, and social distancing, maybe you are spending more time reading novels, scrolling mindlessly through Facebook or Instagram. Are you binge watching your favorite series on Netflix or Hulu? Watching pointless videos on YouTube? I have been guilty of a few of these.

What with working from home, layoffs and forced retirement, we may be finding more hours in the day than we know what to do with. So we fill them with things to entertain ourselves so we can feel like we are not twiddling our thumbs. We seek to save our days (lives) and fill them with things that make us feel happy, fulfilled, maybe even challenged. But to what end?

Does the thought of spending those hours reading and studying the Bible make you cringe? What about fasting, praying, memorizing scripture? With more time on your hands, are you devoting it to yourself, or to your Heavenly Father?

The trivial pursuits we engage in add no value to our lives really. Most of the time that “one more funny cat video” is forgotten as soon as the next one starts. Before you know it, you have scrolled away an hour of your life that you’ll never get back. You will have to make an accounting for it one day though. Now would be a good time to instill some spiritual discipline in your life.

Live it out this week

For the next week, seek His kingdom first and let those trivial pursuits fall by the wayside. If you don’t have a Bible reading habit, start one. If you do have one, add one or two more chapters. If you don’t set aside time to pray and talk with God, set some time aside to do that – preferably in the morning. Change your morning routine to spend time with the One who longs to spend time with you.

Watch this video on Diligence in The Word by Susan J. Heck, it you are not afraid to be challenged and convicted.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, forgive me for being so me-centered in all of my time-wasting trivial pursuits. Instill in me a kingdom mindset. Help me honor my decision to spend more time with You through Your word and in prayer. I choose to lose my life (my desires, wants, dreams) in favor of a life lived for the One who gave His life for me. Amen.

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